The Rotary Club of Cochrane is celebrating its silver anniversary this year.
The volunteer service club has been active in the community for 25 years beginning in 1991 and has contributed to a number of major town projects over the years, which have helped turn Cochrane into the town it is today.
“Over time, we’ve helped develop the Nan Boothby Memorial Library, the Rotary Park in Bow Meadows, the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, the football field at Bow Valley High School, and more,” explained Lynn Thomson, one of the charter members of the club.
One of the club’s most notable projects was partnering with the Cochrane Lions Club, the Town of Cochrane, and the Municipal District of Rocky View No 44 to start the Bow RiversEdge Campground 10 years ago.
According to its website, the campground is a not-for-profit business that distributes its proceeds back into the community through grants and bursaries for community-based organizations.
“So far it’s given back over $745,000,” Thomson said.
Most recently, Rotary partnered with the Kimmett Foundation to provide Cochrane’s Urgent Care Center with ultrasound equipment. The club also made a sizable contribution to Rock the Waves, a town/county-run initiative dedicated to building a new aquatic and curling center to Cochrane.
An anniversary celebration will be held at The Links of GlenEagles May 7. At the event, the club will also present its annual Rotary Club of Cochrane Integrity Award to Gordon Davies, president of the Cochrane Historical and Archival Preservation Society.
Rotary focuses on five avenues of service: club, vocational, community, international, and youth.
According to the club’s website, the object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise. It does so by developing acquaintances as an opportunity for service, encouraging high ethical standards in business and professions, applying the ideal of service in all aspects of a Rotarian’s life, and advancing international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons.
For more information about the 25th anniversary celebration, visit www.events.rotarycochrane.ca.
The club is always looking to increase membership – those interested are invited to attend its weekly meetings to meet members and enjoy a complimentary lunch.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Cochrane, visit www.rotarycochrane.ca.
